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TECHNOLOGY
Do You Really Want More Repairability?
Be careful what you wish for
I have never had a pair of Airpods Pro last more than a few years. I’ve had cases and earbuds replaced under warranty and under AppleCare, but driving to the store or shipping them off is an inconvenience in itself, and it costs me time and money. Sooner or later, I snarl silently and order a new pair.
I’m lucky to be able to afford this self-spoiling excess; not everyone can. The fact that iFixit gave the OG AirPods Pro a 0 out if 10 repairability score is sad, but that the iPods Pro 2 still get the same zilch score is a bit outrageous.
Enter a man named Ken Pillonel who has designed an open source, take-apart case for the OG version that he says Apple could have done itself.
Yeah, not so pretty is it? It’s just the case, not the buds, and you’d need a lot of pricey equipment to make this yourself. The third party market for this is likely small (a large percentage of Pro buyers probably can and probably would rather buy new after a few years), so…